Prepayment meter but in credit....how?

CurlySue2017

As per the title really, we are on a prepaid electricity meter and on the latest bill, it is showing a credit balance.



The meter readings are recent and are also actual readings, not estimated.



After looking back through the last few bills, I can see that there has been a credit balance rolling over for some months.....I'm really unsure how this happens on a prepay meter, does anyone know?


Also, am I entitled to ring them up and ask for this back? It's only £21 but in this nicer weather, that's over a weeks worth of electrcity for us! Or ask them to use it as credit on the meter maybe, rather than topping up?

K.S.

If the bill was generated before you used that credit, it would show you in credit, i had this happen often when i was still on prepayment.


The generated bills don't need to be acted on at all if you're on prepayment, whatever credit you put on the meter stays on the meter, it doesn't go into an account like it would with direct debit.


My take on it.

CurlySue2017

I didn't realise how hard this would be to write out until I started......it's pretty complicated



I understand what you mean, because it has happened in the past and usually just works itself out.


However on the bills for the last few periods, there has been a credit balance on every single one immediately after the bill has been generated, so there is no discrepancy between usage and bills being generated.

Also, the credit is not staying on the meter - the meter keeps going down to zero as always, so I am having to top up my meter with cash when really, I shouldn't have to because there is money sitting there to cover it according to my bills....... if that makes sense.

PennineAcute

Sometimes, depending on how often you top up (on a key meter) is any tariff prices changes are not altered on your meter until you top up.

Let's say you top up monthly on the 1st of each month. There is a tariff change being made on the 10th of that month. As your next top up will be in 20 days time, your meter will be running on the old tariff until the 1st of the next month, when you next top up.

This can account for some credit/debit on key meter prepay.

In addition, gas usage is calculated in a complicated way. A variable is used to calculate how much gas you have used. This variable is updated each time you top up, so again, your gas can also show a credit/debit.

S0litaire

Which suppler are you with?

If it's one of the smaller ones it might be something as stupid as :

They only charge you for your energy usage every quarter, even on Pre-payment meters, so you "build up" a credit before their payment system deducts your actual usage.
I had something like that with a small supplier, they didn't record my payments via key correctly (was 6 months behind and when they did catch up credits were updated weeks of not months before the amount used was deducted from my "account"

Or

They might have you on the wrong tariff on their payment system. Your meter is on the correct tariff, but at their end their it's under a different one which they haven't updated yet.

Or

Was their ever a debt charge on the meter?

If their was a debt in the past, it might not have removed it once it was paid back, therefore you've been paying a bit more than normal so incurring a credit to the account.

IN short:
small supplier =(usually!) lousy/shoddy account reporting systems for pre-payment users.

CurlySue2017

PennineAcute wrote: »

Sometimes, depending on how often you top up (on a key meter) is any tariff prices changes are not altered on your meter until you top up.

Let's say you top up monthly on the 1st of each month. There is a tariff change being made on the 10th of that month. As your next top up will be in 20 days time, your meter will be running on the old tariff until the 1st of the next month, when you next top up.

This can account for some credit/debit on key meter prepay.

In addition, gas usage is calculated in a complicated way. A variable is used to calculate how much gas you have used. This variable is updated each time you top up, so again, your gas can also show a credit/debit.

I've been on prepay for a few years in different properties and with previous suppliers, when there has been a tariff change, they have sent me out a "voucher" to use to top up.

Which meant that any credit built up in the way that you explain here is paid back to you every few months via this voucher, which you then use to top up, instaed of using money from your own pocket so to speak.
Also there is no gas at all, it is electricity only.

S0litaire wrote: »

Which suppler are you with?

If it's one of the smaller ones it might be something as stupid as :

They only charge you for your energy usage every quarter, even on Pre-payment meters, so you "build up" a credit before their payment system deducts your actual usage.
I had something like that with a small supplier, they didn't record my payments via key correctly (was 6 months behind and when they did catch up credits were updated weeks of not months before the amount used was deducted from my "account"

Or

They might have you on the wrong tariff on their payment system. Your meter is on the correct tariff, but at their end their it's under a different one which they haven't updated yet.

Or

Was their ever a debt charge on the meter?

If their was a debt in the past, it might not have removed it once it was paid back, therefore you've been paying a bit more than normal so incurring a credit to the account.

IN short:
small supplier =(usually!) lousy/shoddy account reporting systems for pre-payment users.

Supplier is Scottish Power, so not really a small supplier, but going from what I have read here maybe not the most accurate with bills either

Scottish_Power

CurlySue2017 wrote: »

I've been on prepay for a few years in different properties and with previous suppliers, when there has been a tariff change, they have sent me out a "voucher" to use to top up.

Which meant that any credit built up in the way that you explain here is paid back to you every few months via this voucher, which you then use to top up, instaed of using money from your own pocket so to speak.
Also there is no gas at all, it is electricity only.






Supplier is Scottish Power, so not really a small supplier, but going from what I have read here maybe not the most accurate with bills either

Hi CurlySue2017

I can have a look into the credit balance on your statement to find out if you are due anything back.

If you can email me at Social@scottishpower.com with the following -
your MSE handle
your account number
your full name
your full address
also due to it being a prepayment meter could you provide me with a meter reading (screen H,J,L) and the amount of credit showing on the front screen when you take the meter reading?

Kind Reagrds
Danielle

House_Martin

when a reading is taken from a prepayment meter both suppliers and meter readers can get confused because there are two total kwh s screens on a standard prepayment meter. Screen "G " will show the total kwh s since the meter was installed and the next screen, screen "H " will show the total kwhs used by the present occupier.
I work for Scottish Power and occasionally they ask us for a meter reading from a prepayment meter but they do not always specify which reading they need, the "G " or the "H ". Hence the auto billing will generate credits for some where no credit is due.
Occupiers should only take notice of what credit, or debit is showing on the meter and ignore correspondence from suppliers. It will most likely mean nothing .

SwanJon

Does the statement show the date of the reading and the dates for payments?
Saw it quite often that the reading would be around a week before the latest payment.
(The meter sends a reading back on the key from when it was last in the meter - if you top up weekly the reading on the key will be last week's when you top up this week.)
This means that the statement could show two payments used after the reading was taken from the meter.


If the credit isn't growing I think it'll be something like this.